Alliance American Football League or the XFL

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The XFL hasn’t announced anything since late January and by the time the league gets back in the news it could be too late. The AAF has deals with stadiums. It’s unlikely those stadiums and cities would be able to welcome an XFL franchise. That means Atlanta, Memphis, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and San Diego are off the board. Four of those cities don’t have a professional football team in their city. That would have made those cities perfect for the XFL. The AAF beat the XFL to the punch.

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It looks like they have decent coaches lined up as well. I like what I'm seeing from the AAF. The XFL did announce Oliver Luck as commissioner, but other than that I'm not sure of any other news from the league.

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Id say neither. the talent pool is just never gonna be at the same playing level as the NFL so unless they provide something the NFL doesn't, I can't see there being a major fanbase to get behind either product

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It looks like they have decent coaches lined up as well. I like what I'm seeing from the AAF. The XFL did announce Oliver Luck as commissioner, but other than that I'm not sure of any other news from the league.

Besides Oliver Luck being named Commissioner (and CEO) they have every league office slot filled-

Oliver Luck was previously the president of NFL Europe and the chief executive officer of the Houston Sports Authority, which helped bring the Texans to Houston as an NFL expansion team in 2002. He knows about the business of football.

6 hours ago, CR91 said:

Id say neither. the talent pool is just never gonna be at the same playing level as the NFL so unless they provide something the NFL doesn't, I can't see there being a major fanbase to get behind either product

AAF is for upcoming stars that need a touch more experience/reps to become good enough to make an NFL squad, and ex stars on the backside of their career that are not getting NFL attention but still have gas in the tank and are not ready to hang up the cleats. I guarantee there will be a (possibly few) star(s) from this league once in the NFL. And a reserve pool for NFL teams. Not too unlike the minor leagues for baseball, except teams aren't assigned to NFL teams per se, but I think NFL teams close to an AAF team get special consideration for those players in their market over other NFL teams. AAF is actually declaring being complimentary to NFL .

AAF - We are confident we have the right team and long-term financial resources in place to ensure fans will experience high-quality professional football for many seasons to come,” Ebersol said in a statement.

XFL - "We're focused on what we think is a solid business plan with a solid runway and a solid timeline," O. Luck told ESPN. "Our ultimate goal is to make this all work having high quality football by 2020 and that remains paramount."

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Things may get very interesting very soon in professional football... With multiple leagues providing the possibility of a compelling football game every night of the week (all MY rowdy friends are here for Tuesday and Wednesday night Hank Williams Jr. and they ARE ready for some football!) And the natural American appeal of a comeback story where a guy like Johnny Football (did someone write this script? seriously...) can work his way back to Monday Night Football by playing on Tuesday Night Football... On top of legalized gambling... I have a feeling the will be there...

And there are already a plethora of guys that didn't make it in the NFL that could fill the rosters of at least one more league. PLUS if guys like the Colts own Chris McCain with his recent accusation, or more poignantly - OBJ, who might face NFL discipline for something that might have happened in Europe, all of a sudden get "an offer they can't refuse" from the AAF or XFL...

What if a legit league in competition with the NFL last year had gotten Ezekial Elliot to jump ship last year since his season was up in the air with the NFL? Just like Tony Dorsett got flipped. And Jim Kelly.

If you're not ready to look over the precipice, stop reading: You've been warned...

What if Tom Brady is the starting QB for the Indianapolis Racers of the AAF or XFL in a couple years? If Indianapolis Racers owner Peyton Manning thinks I'm going to root for his buddy Tom Brady, even though he brought 5 more football championships to Indy, all before his 65th birthday, contributing to a championship renaissance in Indianapolis the likes of which have NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE.... even better than Boston and New York... and Chicago... and... and... what was I talking about? OH yeah, boo Tom Brady and his cyborg bionic... face...

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I, too, think the AAF will do well also. However, there is a 3rd pro football league starting and they are also targeting players that are not NFL eligible, and it is an invite only league (must apply).

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Id say neither. the talent pool is just never gonna be at the same playing level as the NFL so unless they provide something the NFL doesn't, I can't see there being a major fanbase to get behind either product

I don't think you get it. This is not about either of these leagues "overtaking" the NFL. For years, the NCAA & the CFL have survived just fine while offering inferior talent (compared to the NFL).

Instead, it is about their ability to survive financially while offering a competitive brand of football for the consumer. For some subset of consumers, it will be about an "alternative" to the NFL.

Of course, "survival" and "growth" will depend on many factors....but having inferior talent to the NFL is not nearly as important as offering a competitive league with a strong following of consumers.

Just look at how many soccer leagues do exist/have existed in Europe for so many years....and they keep adding more leagues all the time!

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I don't think you get it. This is not about either of these leagues "overtaking" the NFL. For years, the NCAA & the CFL have survived just fine while offering inferior talent (compared to the NFL).

Instead, it is about their ability to survive financially while offering a competitive brand of football for the consumer. For some subset of consumers, it will be about an "alternative" to the NFL.

Of course, "survival" and "growth" will depend on many factors....but having inferior talent to the NFL is not nearly as important as offering a competitive league with a strong following of consumers.

Just look at how many soccer leagues do exist/have existed in Europe for so many years....and they keep adding more leagues all the time!

The CFL has the entire country of Canada to market and then you have your die hard college fans from back in the day. That is not the same thing when it comes to the AAF or the XFL. Their gonna be at best a minor league like in comparison to baseball

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The CFL has the entire country of Canada to market and then you have your die hard college fans from back in the day. That is not the same thing when it comes to the AAF or the XFL. Their gonna be at best a minor league like in comparison to baseball

My point is/was, that the players don't have to be "NFL quality" in order for the league(s) to succeed. See NCAA football.

This is more about available market share, solid business model, and a quality product/competition.

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The CFL has the entire country of Canada to market and then you have your die hard college fans from back in the day. That is not the same thing when it comes to the AAF or the XFL. Their gonna be at best a minor league like in comparison to baseball

Not comparable to minor league baseball at all. Minor league baseball does not get fans to watch on TV. People are not crazy for baseball like they are for football.

The AAF has a massive pool to market to. They are not competing with the NFL or college football.

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49% of Americans are pro football fans. That is a huge pool. If they get 10% of them to tune in, they will have succeeded. That is not even counting many of the college football fans who don't watch pro ball. Many of them will tune in to see some of their favorite players who didn't make the NFL.

If there is one sport in this country that can support another league, it is football.

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49% of Americans are pro football fans. That is a huge pool. If they get 10% of them to tune in, they will have succeeded. That is not even counting many of the college football fans who don't watch pro ball. Many of them will tune in to see some of their favorite players who didn't make the NFL.

If there is one sport in this country that can support another league, it is football.

And why would 10% of pro football fans tune in to watch a lesser talented form of football? my thing is, I need some thing from these new leagues that I don't get from pro or college football to really be interested to watch.

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The CFL has the entire country of Canada to market and then you have your die hard college fans from back in the day. That is not the same thing when it comes to the AAF or the XFL. Their gonna be at best a minor league like in comparison to baseball

That's what it's supposed to be

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And why would 10% of pro football fans tune in to watch a lesser talented form of football? my thing is, I need some thing from these new leagues that I don't get from pro or college football to really be interested to watch.

There are 90 players on the Colts roster. So many different are 'underdog favorites' of various fans. When they get cut, they have a league (AAF) for them to develop further with NFL skills. That gives them another lease on their football career, and a pool of more developed players for the NFL to draw from when injures mount as necessary. And, there will be a few elite NFL stars come from that league. NFL stars that were overlooked dot the history of the NFL. I think of it as the AAA level of the NFL.

Pacific Pro is fewer teams, fewer games, and compete directly against colleges recruiting for players. (from graduated senior from high school to 4 years older)

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There are 90 players on the Colts roster. So many different are 'underdog favorites' of various fans. When they get cut, they have a league (AAF) for them to develop further with NFL skills. That gives them another lease on their football career, and a pool of more developed players for the NFL to draw from when injures mount as necessary. And, there will be a few elite NFL stars come from that league. NFL stars that were overlooked dot the history of the NFL. I think of it as the AAA level of the NFL.

Pacific Pro is fewer teams, fewer games, and compete directly against colleges recruiting for players. (from graduated senior from high school to 4 years older)

I get the point of what these leagues are for. what im asking is why would someone wanna watch?

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And why would 10% of pro football fans tune in to watch a lesser talented form of football? my thing is, I need some thing from these new leagues that I don't get from pro or college football to really be interested to watch.

More than 10% of American football fans tune in to watch a "lesser talented form of football" every single week during the fall....

They watch, and are extremely loyal to NCAA football.

Assuming these new leagues do not go head to head with NCAA/NFL, they are very likely to tap into NFL/NCAA fans who are looking for some football in the spring/summer.

Personally, I love this time of year b/c I can begin watching competitive football for the first time since February... it's called CFL and it is very compeetitive and equally entertaining IMO.

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And why would 10% of pro football fans tune in to watch a lesser talented form of football? my thing is, I need some thing from these new leagues that I don't get from pro or college football to really be interested to watch.

Point is, "your thing" in not the only attitude out there. No one is trying to convince you.

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"Overall NFL ratings for this season dropped by 9.7% compared to last season, according to data released by Nielsen on Thursday. This represents and even bigger slide than the 8% dip in ratings from 2015 to 2016.

Virtually every noteworthy NFL game program saw its viewership decline. NBC's Sunday Night Football dropped from 20.323 million to 18.175 million, ESPN's Monday Night Football from 11.390 million to 10.757 million and Thursday Night Football (which aired on NFL Network as well as CBS or FOX) from 12.438 million to 10.937 million."

With that being said I never watch CFL and see little hope for the new leagues because how can there be with fewer people following the NFL? The NFL has become a jury room show for rules interpretations and less hard hitting and we all love to see smash mouth football which is being outlawed.

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